America the Beautiful Festival returns to Port Jervis with fireworks, history

Port Jervis is set to turn New Century into a two-day gathering point for families, veterans, reenactors and weekend visitors, with fireworks, live music and a history-heavy program built around America’s 250th birthday. The fourth annual America the Beautiful Festival will run June 13-14 at 517 Neversink Dr., with Saturday hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is being promoted as free, parking will cost $5, and ticket listings also show tickets starting at $5.00.

This year’s draw goes well beyond a standard festival lineup. Promotional material says the event will honor veterans, military members and first responders while featuring a Battle of Minisink reenactment, George Washington on horseback, Ben Franklin, Revolutionary War-era reenactors and a USA 250th birthday cake-cutting. The schedule also includes a fireworks spectacular, live country, folk and Americana music, a car show, vendors, contests, arts and crafts, kids’ activities and award-winning food trucks, giving Port Jervis a full weekend of activity rather than a single evening crowd.

The event has grown steadily since its early editions. The second annual festival in 2024 featured Jimmy Sturr, Darryl Worley and Dave Bray USA, while the third annual festival in 2025 added a carnival that ran June 12-15 and put Coffey Anderson and Dave Bray USA on the bill. Organizers described that 2025 edition as a celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, with tributes and community recognition folded into the entertainment.

New Century Festivals says the 2026 festival will also include writing and art contests, with prizes that include a $3,000 cash pot, an Honor Flight and gift cards. That gives the weekend a civic edge that reaches beyond the stage and fireworks, tying school-age creators and local participants into the same celebration as the reenactors and headliners.

For Port Jervis businesses, the payoff comes from the way the schedule stretches traffic across both days. A free-admission festival with $5 parking, daytime programming and evening fireworks should keep visitors moving through the Neversink Drive corridor for meals, shopping and other purchases, while the historical programming gives the city a signature summer event built around local pride as well as national history.